August 29, 2012

Improving Property Management Leadership with SaaS

Growing numbers of property management leaders are exploring cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings that enable them to streamline processes, lower operational costs, gain business intelligence and improve productivity. Strong property management leadership is contingent on property leaders spending less time on the day-to-day tactical elements and more time on strategy.

Like most businesses striving to succeed in the current economic climate, property management firms and REITs are faced with the daunting challenge of having to reduce costs while increasing profits. It’s an intimidating proposition. But it can be accomplished by streamlining processes, maximizing resources and harnessing cloud computing in the form of SaaS technologies.

Reduce Property Costs

Property leaders will appreciate that an SaaS platform removes the need for any capital expense in the form of IT infrastructure. Property leaders are not required to invest in an IT department or extensive hardware. Because SaaS is software that is accessed through the Internet, an SaaS property management solution is easy to set up and even easier to maintain as providers manage any necessary upkeep and upgrades.

Property management firms that employ these systems make additional savings by taking services, such as tenant acquisitions, online. “Smart” paperless applications and email queries cut the costs of printed forms and phone bills, and offer a much more efficient means of sorting through prospects.

360 Degree Views for More Business Intelligence

But SaaS goes far beyond simply reducing upfront costs. By switching to such a cloud-based system, property management companies and REITs gain access to real-time data about all their properties – information that is current, comprehensive and consolidated. Rather than having to sift through data that is often isolated in silos across various platforms and medium, professionals can quickly and easily access everything they need through one powerful tool.

This valuable information enables executives and managers to move beyond the daily grind and focus on property management leadership. Through tools such as SaaS, property professionals are able to get a clear picture of their business – all in real time. They can review and assess performance by building, by building manager or by region, giving them keen decision-making insights that empower them to make the right choices to improve their operations, marketing and finances. This heightened business intelligence leads to more effective property management leadership.

More Organizational Productivity

In a recent study, Erik Brynjolfsson, an economist at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), compared the processes and output of 179 large companies. As reported in The New York Times, he and his colleagues found that the companies that adopted “data-driven decision making” achieved productivity rates that were 5 to 6 percent higher than could be explained by other factors, including how much the companies invested in technology.

Better Customer Service

Improved productivity is clearly a desirable outcome. But the benefits of having access to reliable real-time data don’t end there. Leading property management companies are offering residents comprehensive and robust tenant portals. This SaaS technology provides an opportunity to create efficient, open communication with tenants. For example, many rental properties feature online forms for handling maintenance requests and other services. SaaS property management solutions allow property managers to stay on top of any issues and ensure that all requests are handled promptly.

Cloud-based technologies offer a winning combination of increased business intelligence and decreased administration time. By adopting these tools, you can effectively and inexpensively improve and streamline internal processes and tenant relations; in other words, you can increase profitability while reducing costs. Property leaders can use SaaS technology to increase their competitive edge.

If you want to know how PropertyVista can help you create mission-critical property leadership dashboards for your REIT or property management company, contact us. Are you using these new technologies to improve your property management leadership? Tell us how in the comments.

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Web based and simple-to-use, PropertyVista offers a suite of online tools designed for landlords and property managers who understand the importance of reducing vacancies, cutting risk and improving cash-flow through strong tenant relations.